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Post by BryanW on Sept 27, 2023 15:58:57 GMT
Not sure if this is in the wrong section as it's been a while since I last posted, but does anyone know the current wait time for Hanbon Forge to respond to emails? I sent something to both the general sales email as well as Yao's email listed on the site about ten days ago but if the standard is a couple weeks to respond then I won't worry for another week or two.
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Post by fayebarca on Sept 27, 2023 22:45:44 GMT
I know it’s about to be the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is an 8-day national holiday in China. It’s very common for companies there to effectively shut down starting a week prior to and up to a week after the holiday period as people travel to visit their families in other regions. Obviously not a definite universal, but possible.
It’s possible you just had bad luck with timing and emailed them right at this hazy period.
If you don’t hear back in two weeks, I’d follow up.
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Post by BryanW on Sept 28, 2023 0:15:47 GMT
I saw that was coming up. That would make sense. Hopefully that's all it is. Thanks!
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Sept 28, 2023 2:27:28 GMT
I've had no problems communicating with Yao this week, he even completed and shipped my sword which was ordered last week.
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Post by fayebarca on Sept 28, 2023 2:31:55 GMT
Oh, in that case, try following up now. Should be business hours in China (noon-ish).
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Post by BryanW on Sept 28, 2023 14:48:16 GMT
In follow up (in case anyone searches and finds this thread), Yao was able to get back to me after I resent an email which was great. Only thing to do now is wait for the production time.
Thanks again everyone.
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Post by yose on Sept 30, 2023 9:53:14 GMT
Same here. Response time is 24 hours at most. Production time for a custom sword seems to be more than a month, from what I heard.
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Post by BryanW on Oct 21, 2023 18:25:05 GMT
Just in follow up, for the remainder of the process, Mr. Yao was pretty responsive which I, as a customer, greatly appreciate. Construction was relatively quick (which could be good or bad I suppose). I will note that some of the recommended custom adjustments were not done in the final pictures and when I questioned it I didn't really get a satisfactory response and they sent it anyway because I didn't really protest enough and I thought the rest of it looked ok from the photographs. Some of this I suspect may be due language barrier, but I cannot be sure it wasn't for other reasons (IE: They didn't want to redo anything).
The blade is in transit. If the result is good (the blade is what I expect, fittings and construction decent enough relative to the price) then for the price its still possibly worth it and I'd consider trying again. Otherwise I might stick to more known quantities.
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Post by BryanW on Oct 24, 2023 15:28:21 GMT
I should probably do a review but anyone who finds this thread I thought I would post a conclusion (for now) because it seems few ever follow up on the results of questions they ask.
Shipping was very quick. The blade and overall construction was actually better than I expected though I haven't dismantled it yet. Nothing obviously loose. In the hand it feels pretty appropriate with the right balance between responsiveness and blade presence. I ordered a 20 inch blade (it came out as 19.9 according to their measurements) so it will lend itself to a lighter feel regardless. Minor cosmetic issues (some of the finish on the edge of the habaki isn't even, one edge of the iron tsuba is subtly thicker in one area but nothing glaring or functional on the sword itself. The saya is very slightly too tight against the habaki which could cause rubbing but nothing is cracked and this is an easy fix compared to being too loose or too tight in the distal end. Packing was secure, they used quite a bit of oil and wrapped the blade before transporting it in the saya. They also wrapped the tsuka as well (probably to prevent oil from getting on it).
There appeared to be slight damage to the external saya (a small dent in one area towards the middle and a subtle scratch in another). I can't exclude this from being due to shipping and/or customs if they opened the package rather than something on Hanbon Forge's end.
They include a "certificate of authenticity" with some measurements (they got it pretty close to what I requested which is kind of neat because it suggests a hand forged piece). I suspect its to give the allusion of actual NHTK/NBTHK papers to some lesser extent with the stamps but its a great reference anyway.
Not a full comprehensive review by any means, not a perfect delivery, but for the price? Great job Hanbon Forge! As I said before, I probably should start doing some full reviews at some point with pictures...
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Post by Rain on Oct 24, 2023 20:35:39 GMT
Interesting news on your Hanbon Forge experience.
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